Thursday, July 31, 2014

1615 Robert Peake the Elder (c. 1551–1619) Lady Elizabeth Pope, wearing a draped mantle and matching turbanOne of my favorite turbans predates the 18C Turquerie style. It is Robert Peake's dark turban of 1615 seen above. Turbans regained popularity in the early 19C, when the style of painting was called Orientalism. The tied turban was most popular in women's fashions in the 1790s & the early 1800s. Larger turbans of later decades of the 19C, as well as the elaborate hairstyles necessitated a pre-formed headdress, such as the one seen below.

Saturday, July 26, 2014

1907 Henri Matisse (French artist, 1869–1954) Red Madras HeaddressAlthough women had been depicted with turbans for centuries, these turbans were part of the Oriental craze in 19-20C art. Orientalism is a term used by art, literary, & cultural studies scholars for the depiction of aspects of Middle Eastern & Eastern cultures by writers & artists from Western cultures. Orientalist painting, depicting mostly "the Middle East" was one of the many areas of 19C art.

Friday, July 25, 2014

Valadon Was interested in shaking up preconceived ideas. Here is a tough odalisque, Perhaps more interested in smoking cigarettes & amp; reading than in luring a male companion. Odalisque comes from a Turkish suffix Expressing a function, as sort of English "er" or "ary" might When added to a noun. And oda is a room, a chamber here in a harem. The odalisque Refers to the traditionally used gold female slave in the harem of a Turkish sultan. The term adopté Was During The academic 19C by Europe as a form of artistic eroticism in orientalism. In an interesting twist, Turkish writer Melek Hanum (Hanim) [1814-1873] used the word odalisque referring to a slave as she wrote: "If Any lady possesses a pretty-looking slave, the fact soon gets Known Who The gentlemen wish. to buy an odalisque for a wife, make Their offers. Many Turks, Indeed, prefer to take a slave as a wife, as, in Such box, There Is No need to dread fathers, mothers, or brothers-in-law, and --other undesirable relationships. "So much for troublesome in-laws.Orientalism is a term used by art, literary, & amp; cultural studies scholars for the depiction of aspects of Middle Eastern & amp; Eastern cultures by writers & amp; artists from Western cultures. Orientalist painting, depicting mostly "the Middle East" was one of the Many areas of 19C art.

Odalisque comes from a Turkish suffix expressing a function, sort of as English "er" or "ary" might when added to a noun. And oda is a room, here a chamber in a harem. The odalisque traditionally refers to the female slave or servant in the harem of a Turkish sultan. The term was adopted during the 19C by academic Europe as a form of artistic eroticism in orientalism. In an interesting twist, Turkish writer Melek Hanum (Hanim) [1814-1873] used the word odalisque referring to a slave in her autobiography Thirty Years in a Harem, as she wrote: "If any lady possesses a pretty-looking slave, the fact soon gets known. The gentlemen who wish to buy an odalisque for a wife, make their offers. Many Turks, indeed, prefer to take a slave as a wife, as, in such case, there is no need to dread fathers, mothers, or brothers-in-law, and other undesirable relations." So much for troublesome in-laws.Orientalism is a term used by art, literary, & cultural studies scholars for the depiction of aspects of Middle Eastern & Eastern cultures by writers & artists from Western cultures. Orientalist painting, depicting mostly "the Middle East" was one of the many areas of 19C art.

Thought you might like to read the 1872 Harper's review of Melek Hanum's autobiography.

Henry Mills Alden 1872Harper's New Monthly Magazine Volume 45Editor's Literary RecordThirty Years in a Harem (Harper and Brothers) is a very remarkable book. It purports to be the autobiography of Melek Hanum, wife of H. H. Kibrizli Mehemet Pasha. The imprint of the publishers is a sufficient guarantee that the book is what it purports to be, though the cautious reader will probably very soon recognize the fact that the authoress has an ambition to make a sensation, and accordingly will receive her story with some caution. Those who know the stainless character of her first husband, Dr. Millingen, whom she so violently and unjustly asperses, will look with reasonable suspicion on her nspersion of others who are less well and widely known in Christendom. She does not, indeed, conceal the fact that she is a totally unscrupulous woman; prides herself on her political intrigues; writes with a curiously simple naiveté of the contrivances to which she resorted to secure bribes during her Turkish husband's administration of government in the Holy Land; and even in recording her attempt to palm off upon him another child as her own appears to be far more impressed with a sense of her folly than with any shame at her guilt. The history of such a woman, written with a scarcely concealed purpose to secure from the public a condemnation of her foes, is not only liable to all the suspicion which attaches to extravagant statements, but to the special suspicion which attaches to the extravagant statements of a jealous, humiliated, and wholly unscrupulous woman, who by her own showing disregarded the universal sense of Turkish propriety while seeking a refuge from Turkish persecution among the giaours. But with full allowance made for coloring and misrepresentation, it is certain that this volume gives an interesting view of Turkish life, customs, and laws, such as has never been afforded to the Christian world. Plenty of travelers have looked on the outside, and told us what to an observer it appears to be. Melek Hanum carries us into the interior of Turkish life, describes its corruption, its profligacy, its injustice, its violation of right and of chivalry, its flagrant oppression of the weak, its outrageous tyranny over woman. Her second husband was, in various positions, a leading official of the Turkish government, being at times a Grand Vizier; and it is evident that, in spite of the “subjection of women" in the East, they are greater politicians than in the West. At times her story, which is always dramatic, becomes sensational in its episodes; and certainly if it were a novel, not a biography, we should class it among the sensational romances. Yet this sensationalism is not in the style, which is that of a simple and seemingly untutored narrative, but in the incidents themselves. Indeed, those which are most capable of being highly wrought are told with the greatest simplicity. It is not, however, the story which chiefly interests the thoughtful reader, but the portraiture of Turkish civilization which that story embodies. Government at the Sultan’s court and government in the provinces, political intrigue and domestic life, marriage and divorce, Turkish law and Turkish lawlessness, are all revealed by one who knows whereof she speaks; and the disclosure is such as to demonstrate, even after all allowances are made, that the condition of the “ sick man" is even more desperate than it has generally been supposed to be.

Egron Sellif Lundgren (Swedish painter, 1815-1875)Orientalism is a term used by art, literary, & cultural studies scholars for the depiction of aspects of Middle Eastern & Eastern cultures by writers & artists from Western cultures. Orientalist painting, depicting mostly "the Middle East" was one of the many areas of 19C art.

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On March 4, 2011, Emile de Bruijn of the National Trust in the UK, wrote on his blog "Treasure Hunt" of making history & art available to all: "Traditionally art history has been inherently elitist & exclusive, both socially & intellectually. Art tended to be commissioned by the upper classes. Connoisseurship was seen as a superior, refined skill & the products of art-historical scholarship were guarded almost as fiercely as the art itself."

On May 29, 1012, William Noel, now Director of Special Collections Center & Director of Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies. University of Pennsylvania, told The TED Blog, "...digital data is not a threat to real data, it’s just an advertisement that only increases the aura of the original, so there just doesn’t seem to be any point in putting restrictions on the data. There is the further fact that the data is funded by taxpayers’ money. So it didn’t seem fair to limit what taxpayers could do with the data that they paid for."

On February 7, 2017, Thomas P. Campbell, Director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, announced a new policy: all images of public-domain artworks in the Museum's collection are now available for free & unrestricted use. "We have been working toward the goal of sharing our images with the public for a number of years. Our comprehensive & diverse museum collection spans 5,000 years of world culture & our core mission is to be open & accessible for all who wish to study & enjoy the works of art in our care. Increasing access to the Museum’s collection & scholarship serves the interests & needs of our 21C audiences by offering new resources for creativity, knowledge, & ideas."